Words

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
― Julia Child

Monday, September 27, 2010

Greengages!

You may recall that I asked you to name this food...

Well, they are greengages, which are a cultivar of the plum. They were in fact developed in France from a wild plum variety Ganerik that is native to Asia Minor. The name greengage evidently comes from the fact that the first people to bring them to the UK were members of the Gage family. At one time they were grown in the USA, even being grown on the plantations of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, but their popularity Stateside has dwindled since that time. Which is a shame really, because they are delicious, honey-sweet and rich. They are ideal for jams and jellies, but here's a fabulous dessert recipe.

Start by slicing the greengages in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and place in a heavy-based saucepan along with the vanilla pod, lemon peel, water and sugar.

Place over a low-to-medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit is soft. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Place in the fridge until well chilled. Softly whip the cream. Remove the cooked greengages from the fridge and fold through the whipped cream. Serve immediately.

5 comments:

I do occasionally find greengages in my neck of the woods. They always seem to be in the supermarkets rather than the farmer's markets. I'm not sure if anyone grows them locally. Somewhere I have a recipe for greengage ice cream.